Libya: Militias agree to pull out from Tripoli

Militias fighting for the control of capital Tripoli have agreed to withdraw from their positions in and around capital Tripoli, the UN Support Mission for the country (UNSMIL) said in a statement on Sunday.

“Parties agreed today to freeze their forces’ movements, a monitoring & verification mechanism to consolidate the ceasefire + development of a plan to withdraw armed groups from sovereign locations and critical infrastructure in #Tripoli,” UNSMIL tweeted.

UNSMIL last week announced a ceasefire agreement between armed factions in and round Tripoli, which slipped out of the control of UNSMIL-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).

GNA has been struggling to impose itself since its establishment in the capital, in March 2016.

The fighting which started two weeks ago caused the death of over 30 people and wounded at least 100 others. They damaged oil facilities and led to the closure of the capital international airport before it was re-opened on Friday.

The agreement to withdraw from the capital was initialled in the western city of Zawiya under the auspices of the UN mission.

A day earlier, Khalifa Haftar who heads the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA), opposed to the GNA, threatened to overran the capital to flash out the militia groups.

“Tripoli must be liberated and will not remain in spoiled hands. The armed forces move after accurate calculations. We will move towards Tripoli in the proper time,” Haftar was quoted as saying by his spokesman.

Haftar has accused the GNA of housing terror groups and armed factions aligned with Muslim Brotherhood.